Not long after their glamorous art parties in the French capital, many in the art world are going to seek some sunshine and warmth while looking at art and design in Miami Beach this week. Miami actually satisfies both art and design lovers with the Wynwood Art District and the Design District. It has been a stronghold of mega-collectors of contemporary art, from the Rubells to the de la Cruzs, who also share their collections with the public through their foundations or museums. Many others are the driving force behind the rise of Miami as an international art hub, including but not limited to Leonardo Rodríguez, Martin Z. Margulies, Dennis and Debra Scholl, and Ella Fontanals-Cisneros.
LARRY’S LIST has prepared a list of art collectors who are also fervently engaged in the Miami art scene, continuing in the footsteps of the aforementioned collectors.
Pablo Rodríguez and Desiree Casoni
@pablorfraile & @desireecasoni
Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile is a mathematician, economist, and investor in the blockchain and digital art space. He was Beeple’s first collector and holds “RFC Collection” an online gallery designed by Desiree Casoni, featuring works by leading digital artists such as Refik Anadol, Pak, Andres Reisinger, etc. Pablo’s collection of cryptoart now contains more than 2,000 NFTs while the couple own more than 500 digital artworks.
Pablo is also the founder of Aorist, a next-generation cultural institution commissioning cutting-edge creations at the intersection of art and technology, with sales supported through their sustainable NFT marketplace powered by Algorand.
Maky Hinson
@makyhinson
Not only a jewellery designer and mother of two, Maky Hinson is a dedicated collector and a member of the acquisitions board at Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Miami. Having grown up surrounded by art and design, she has been much inspired by her architect father and. Here first purchase was a work on paper by Yoshitomo Nara. Artists in her collection include blue-chips, such as Cy Twombly, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Josh Smith, as well as emerging ones like Calvin Marcus and Kathleen Ryan. She was included in The Next Gen Art Collector Report published in 2021.
John Marquez
@johnfitosway
Real estate developer, investor and Michelin-star restaurant owner, and a trustee at ICA Miami, John Marquez has built a remarkable art collection that has expanded from street artists such as Banksy and KAWS through to a broader, more representative range of emerging and mid-career artists. Think: George Condo, Harold Ancart, André Butzer, Javier Calleja, Nina Chanel Abney, Emily Mae Smith and Joyce Pensato. He is also the founder of Marquez Art Projects and is hosting Art After Dark at COTE Miami this December. Then, the collector will open a 10,000-square-foot warehouse in the Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood in 2023, which will offer public programming and artist residencies. He was included in The Next Gen Art Collector Report published in 2021.
Ronald Harrar
@ronaldharrar
Collector and art adviser Ronald Harrar’s art-filled Instagram has a fellowship of over 14k. There he often shared photos from his gallery and artist’s studio visits as well as the artworks displayed at his home. His art collection includes some of the most sought-after artists of today: André Butzer, KAWS, Javier Calleja, Ewa Juszkiewicz, En Iwamura, Cristina de Miguel, Jordy Kerwick, Otis kwame kye Quaicoe, Deborah Brown and many others.
Alex Witkoff
@alex_witkoff
As the Executive Vice President at family-founded New York real estate investment firm Witkoff, he began making art acquisitions based on market value on behalf of the company, which led him to acquire works from Sterling Ruby and Sarah Sze — the beginning of his private art collection. His diverse collection also includes works from Katharina Grosse, Andrea Marie Breiling, Genesis Tramaine, Tau Lewis, and Chase Hall. He is also on the board of trustees at the ICA in Miami.
Sarah Harrelson
@sarahgharrelson
A tastemaker, art collector and mother of three, Sarah Harrelson is also the founder and editor in chief of the art and design magazine CULTURED launched in 2011 and the Los Angeles–focused LaLa magazine. Often on the move between Miami, New York and Los Angeles, she is particularly interested in emerging artists and has built up a significant art collection with her husband, including works by Jonathan Lyndon Chase, Donna Huanca, Neil Baloufa, Janette Mundt, Bunny Rogers, Elle Perez, and Josh Kline.
(Read previous interview: Her Immense Joy from Matisse to Emerging Artists)
Jacky Aizenman
@aizenmanj
Real estate investor and collector Jacky Aizenman has been collecting a wide range of artists, including but not limited to Jonas Wood, Oscar Murillo, KAWS, Javier Calleja, Emily Mae Smith, Cristina de Miguel, Mary Weatherford, André Butzer, Robert Nava, and Izumi Kato, to name a few. He often his art visits to various galleries or random shots of his art collection on his Instagram feed.
By Ricko Leung
